Introduction
Preventing homelessness among youth and young adults involved in the child welfare system remains an urgent issue for child welfare policymakers and practitioners. To expand the evidence base on interventions designed to prevent homelessness among youth and young adults with foster care histories at age 14 or older, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched the Youth At-Risk of Homelessness (YARH) multiphase grant program.
ACF contracted with Mathematica in the first two phases of YARH to conduct process studies, provide evaluation technical assistance to grantees, support grantees in articulating and refining the design of their service models, assess the evaluability of each service model, and disseminate the knowledge grantees developed. ACF is in the third phase of YARH (2019 to 2028, known as YARH-3). This phase provides information to the field on how to better serve youth and young adults through a rigorous summative evaluation of a policy-relevant comprehensive service model, Pathways to Success (Pathways), developed by Colorado. Pathways is an intensive, coach-like case management model for youth and young adults with foster care histories at age 14 or older.
37 counties within Colorado are participating in the summative evaluation. Some counties have a small number of youth and young adults who need services. In these cases, adjacent counties form a hub for service provisions. 15 hubs, encompassing the 37 counties, are participating in the summative evaluation. Enrollment for the summative evaluation began in September 2021.
About a year into the enrollment period, this descriptive report takes stock of the services delivered through Pathways and comparison (business-as-usual) programs, the characteristics of the hubs in the evaluation, and the characteristics of the youth and young adults enrolled through August 2022.
Purpose
To give context for the summative evaluation and understand the study sample, this descriptive report describes the services offered through Pathways and the comparison hubs, characteristics of the hubs, and baseline characteristics of the youth and young adults who enrolled in the study through the first year of enrollment.
Key Findings and Highlights
Colorado’s child welfare system provides services to youth and young adults in a range of contexts and environments. The hubs currently participating in the summative evaluation vary notably on a number of key characteristics associated with homelessness and child welfare. For example, the average child welfare caseload ranges from one to 55 individuals, and between 4.3 and 14.1 percent of the total population lives in poverty. As of December 2022, the number of youth and young adults potentially eligible for the study ranged from one to 120 youth and young adults.
Youth and young adults in Pathways work with trained staff called Navigators. Navigators work with youth and young adults by engaging with them in a coach-like way to build a supportive relationship that encourages them to act as their own advocates. Exhibit 1 lists the Pathways services offered to youth and young adults. In the comparison hubs, workers support youth and young adults in multiple aspects of their lives to strengthen their independent living skills and through monthly meetings to help them define goals and complete an independent living plan. Exhibit 1 lists the comparison services offered to youth and young adults.
Enrollment for the summative evaluation began in September 2021. About one year into enrollment (through August 2022), 116 youth and young adults are enrolled in the evaluation. These enrollees receive Pathways or comparison program services across the hubs participating in the summative evaluation through August 2022. The sample represents a diverse group of participants who have both protective and risk factors of homelessness. The average age of participants (18.9 years) has relevance for interventions like Pathways that want to support youth and young adults transitioning out of foster care. Characteristics of youth and young adults, such as high prevalence of homelessness or unstable housing, high unemployment rates, and high prevalence of depression, suggest there is an opportunity for Pathways to improve core outcomes among youth.
This report is the first of many that the YARH project will release that include findings from the summative evaluation. Please visit the OPRE YARH project page for future products.
Methods
This report uses a mixed-methods approach to describe the programs we are studying and the youth and young adults the programs are serving. We conducted a document review, qualitative interviews, and focus groups to understand the experiences of staff and youth and young adults throughout early implementation. We use descriptive statistics to describe the baseline characteristics of youth and young adults who completed a baseline youth survey through August 2022.
Citation
Shiferaw, M., N. Fung, N. Islam, and K. Chesnut. “Youth At-Risk of Homelessness: An Early Picture of Youth and Services. Examining a Coach-like Case Management Program for Youth and Young Adults with Foster Care Histories.” OPRE Report #2023-214, Washington DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2023. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/yarh-early-picture-youth-and-services-descriptive-report.
Glossary
- OPRE:
- Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation
- YARH:
- Youth At-Risk of Homelessness, an initiative the Administration for Children and Families funds to help communities address homelessness among youth and young adults with child welfare involvement